Crystal Flowers
by Vanilla Twinkles
Summary: It all started from boredom, wherein our favorite celestial mage, Lucy Heartfilia, takes a solo mission. During her quest, she bumps to two people who she didn't think would change her life in an instant. And with certain circumstances, she becomes very close friends with them. Yet something's telling her that befriending them is a wrong choice when she's already falling in love.
1. Chapter 1

**Crystal Flowers**

**Author's Notes: **Since I got bored, _again_, I decided to make a StiLuRo fan fiction! This time, I'm determined to finish this. Here's the first chapter of _Crystal Flowers_ For now, I don't know who Lucy would end up with so I'm actually planning to base the pairing from you guys. Tell me if you want a StiLu or a RoLu in the reviews. I do not accept PMs and I'm too lazy to make a poll, sorry...So, here's the first chapter, hope you like it!

**Important Notes:** Set a few months after the Grand Magic Games and that dragon festival thingy about Future Rogue.

**Summary:** It all started from boredom, wherein our favorite celestial mage, Lucy Heartfilia, takes a solo mission. During her quest, she bumps to two people who she didn't think would change her life in an instant: one arrogant and one trustworthy friend. And with certain circumstances, she becomes very close friends with them. Yet something's telling her that befriending them is a wrong choice, but too late, because she's already falling in love.

**Genre: **Romance, Drama, Hurt/Comfort

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima and not mine to take.

* * *

**Chapter One**

"It's so boring nowadays..." Lucy Heartfilia, a celestial spirit mage of the famous guild, Fairy Tail, mumbled as she rested her head on the counter of the guild's bar. The barmaid and a magazine model, Mirajane Strauss, looked at her fellow guild mate as she wiped the porcelain plates with a damp white cloth. Lucy sighed, sending more worries to the white-haired woman in front of her. After a few minutes, the blonde sighed again.

Mirajane sweat dropped and decided to ask about the sulking blonde's frequent sighs. "Lucy, why don't you just go on a mission with your team?" she asked gently.

Lucy, who seemed expectant of her query, popped her head up to answer. "I would, but then again I wouldn't" she replied, another sigh escaping her lips. "I don't want to see another city blow up because of Gray and Natsu. It's just really, _really,_ frustrating" the blonde added, resting her head on her palms. Mirajane nodded understandingly. She knew exactly what Lucy meant.

"Ah, then why not go on a mission alone then?"

The blonde squinted at the cheerful barmaid in front of her, then smiled at the idea. "Maybe I will. Thanks a lot Mira! I'll be right back, I have to pick a request now!" she happily chirped, feeling good with the idea, standing up from her seat and rushing to the Request Board.

Lucy studied each request carefully and found an easy one with a good pay. "Hmm.. Just to find a crystal flower to a young ice alchemist for 35,000 jewels. Might as well take it. Plus it's just over Mt. Hakobe, the carriages from the mountain should be arriving a few minutes from now " she muttered to herself, snatching the paper from the board and walked back to Mirajane, who recently just confirmed a mission another Fairy Tail mage had shown. Mirajane turned her attention the celestial spirit wizard, who was now holding a piece of paper with a request's details written on it.

"You're taking this one?" she asked.

Lucy nodded. "Okay then, be careful, Lucy! Good luck!" Mirajane said with a warm grin.

"Thanks, I will! Goodbye Mira!" Lucy hollered as she ran off the guild, hoping that she'd catch a carriage to take her to her destination.

* * *

Lucy reached Mt. Hakobe, but called out Virgo to give her a jacket so she doesn't have to call out Horologium. She payed the carriage driver some jewels and went on to search for the young ice alchemist's residence. She walked, shaking a bit even if she has a jacket on, and finally found a small wooden lodge in sight. Lucy grinned victoriously but weakly and ran unsteadily to the lodge, the cold wind blowing as she stepped.

She knocked twice on the wooden door and waited patiently. She heard quick heavy footsteps from inside and saw the door open, revealing a tall, handsome, white-haired boy, who was about the same age as her. He had striking blue eyes which matched the blue hooded sweater and black jogging pants. **(A/N: ****Kind of like, Jack Frost but with just black jogging pants). **He was holding a long wooden staff, wrapped up in a white clothing, which helped him steady himself from the strong wind. He eyed at Lucy with a pleasant, welcoming smile.

"You must be the mage who took the request. Lucy Heartfilia, right?" he asked and Lucy nodded in response. "Come in, you'll freeze over there. A simple jacket like that isn't helping" he added, opening the door wider, letting Lucy in. The blonde willingly got in and dusted off the thin snow that was on her head, feeling slightly embarrassed by the fact that this guy was so _mesmerizing._

The young man closed the door and breathed, hanging the staff back on the wall. "Thank you for taking this job. My name's Winter Canter. Call me Quite typical for a guy who lives in a snowy mountain, I know, but I don't blame myself, so call me Wint. I'm an ice alchemist, a rare career, I must say. But it runs in the family" he explained, "And right now I'm currently looking for a crystal flower but the wyverns of this area are too strong for me. I figured that a strong mage from a strong guild would do the trick"

Lucy blushed a little, he actually thought that she was strong. "I'm honored to do the job, Wint. However, why do you need a crystal flower?" she reluctantly asked. Not a really stupid question, but she shouldn't have asked anyways. It was just to make her look like she's not a girl of few words.

"I need it to perfect a potion I've been trying to whip up for a couple of weeks now," Winter said coolly, "It's a potion on how to instantly cure colds. Believe me, the tonics that the people in the village are selling are fake. Potions brewed by a real alchemist, such as me, can tell that our works are authentic and very effective. I raised the reward for it because it's located exactly beside a wyvern's nest, a really tough job for a homebody like me"

"Oh..." was all Lucy could say. _'And here I thought those tonics were already super effective' _she thought. Silence filled the air for a few seconds but Lucy decided to speak up to get the job done. She wanted to finish this job by the end of the day so she could run to a coffee shop and drink hot chocolate. "Well I better go and get your crystal flower now" Lucy stated quickly and headed for the door.

Winter smiled and opened the door for her. "Good luck, Lucy! I'm counting on you" he said encouragingly as Lucy already ran off his house. She certainly is quite a weird girl.

* * *

Not far from where Lucy was venturing out to search for the so-called crystal flower, two dragon slayers and their exceeds from the guild Sabertooth, easily stood on the mountain top doing their job. At least one wasn't really working too hard, but the other was going all out as if he was really enjoying himself in a blizzard while in the midst of a battle. Rogue Cheney, a quiet man of his own, just watched from the sidelines with the two exceeds as Sting Eucliffe, his partner, defeat one vulcan after another. A red cat wearing a small blue vest cheered for Sting, shouting praises here and there every so often. The other was green in a pink frog costume who just unconsciously smiled at the scene.

"Hey Rogue! Come and join the party! You're missing out all the fun!" Sting called as he dodged a vulcan's enormous arm.

The called man blinked. "Not interested..." he said with a blank expression on his face.

"Oi, you might wanna change you catchphrase, man! You've been using that phrase since we were kids!" the White Dragon Slayer teased, who just emitted a strong roar that easily defeated two vulcans. But more kept appearing and attacked Sting as they did.

Rogue, who seemed quite offended by his _best friend's_ comment, sighed. "Fine then," he growled lowly, "I'm not in the mood to join in what 'fun' you're talking about. I'm perfectly capable of watching you entertain yourself with useless fights"

"Sting! You're the best!" Lector, the red exceed, shouted, unaware of the current topic. Not that it mattered to Sting and Rogue anyway.

Sting snickered as he knocked more vulcans down. He sweat dropped as more appeared but then turned his attention back to his black-haired friend. "And that's short for...?"

"Still not interested" Rogue replied bluntly and crossed his arms.

The blonde dragon slayer rolled his eyes and continued on his fight. Sting sent out an enormous roar as he jumped up the air, unaware that he had hit a small creature from a far because of his attack. Rogue, who got bored, walked away. "I'll be exploring the mountain. You go meet me and Frosch at the bottom once you're done" he said as he turned his back on his partner, the said exceed flying after him. Lector ignored them while Sting just nodded to himself. His partner's really complicated...

* * *

Meanwhile, Lucy sighed as she was on the middle top level of the mountain. She had been walking for hours now and she had no idea where the wyvern's nests are. Plus she was now thinking of how to steal a crystal flower in the habitat of those dangerous beasts when they are known for being extremely overprotective of their territory. But she has her spirits with her and she trusts them more than herself.

She walked a little bit further and stopped in her tracks as she heard a loud rumbling sound. Lucy's head turned to all directions, her hands already clutching to her keys and prepared for a sudden attack. The rumbling sound turned to a small pained whimper and a sweeping sound that came from straight ahead. Lucy walked a bit more, her jaw dropping as she found a small wyvern with a gashed arm.

"Rrrrmmpp" it grumbled in pained as it wiggled to stand up, but failed due to its wounded part. The young, white, wyvern shot a worried look at Lucy but didn't seem to plan on attacking her whatsoever.

Lucy felt sorry for the little creature and rushed to help it. Even though that this wyvern would grow up into a strong, mighty beast, it's still a living thing nonetheless. The blonde wizard took out a cloth from her rucksack and some water from a plastic bottle. She poured some water to the small piece of cloth and reached out for the wyvern's arm. The beast looked at her in horror but didn't move to react. Instead, it let out a small wail.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you" Lucy said convincingly.

She carefully pulled the wyvern's small but meaty arm out with one hand and wrapped the bleeding wound with the cloth, tying it to a tight knot. "There," Lucy breathed, "It's going to be fine now. Just be careful next time, okay?". She felt like she was doing the craziest yet rarest thing in the world. She never helped a deadly creature before, but this one was not exactly deadly since it's injured.

Lucy watched in worry as the wyvern who licked the cloth and managed to carefully stand up. Eventually, it fell again, emitting a pained snarl. She shook her head in disappointment and tried to put an arm around the wyvern's spiky back. "I'll help you up so please trust me on this" Lucy said beyond any doubt and lifted the white creature up a little. Lucy's arms slid away and both failed.

"You're too heavy for a small guy like you. But then again, you're a wyvern, considered a strong beast, except for your wound and all" she commented with a chuckle as she panted.

"Heartfilia?" someone said from somewhere behind them. Lucy and the wyvern turned to look. It was no other than the Shadow Dragon Slayer from Sabertooth, who looks amazed by the fact that she was in a cold place such as this. Lucy stared at him in wonder, glanced at his exceed who stared back, then to Rogue once more.

She tilted her head to the side. "Um...Rogue Cheney, right?" she asked.

He nodded and took a step closer to them, Frosch mimicking his actions. "It's been a while, hasn't it? And what brings you here..._alone_?" Rogue asked, which was quite unusual for Lucy, because she knew that he doesn't talk very much.

"Oh I just thought that doing a solo mission might help me get the proper reward, without my team destroying a city and all. And yes, it has been a while" Lucy replied with a smile

Rogue nodded at her, a faint smile forming and stepped beside her and the injured wyvern. He looked at her, safely asking for an explanation. "I was on my way to the wyvern's nests to look for a crystal flower. Then I just stumbled on this little fellow so I tried helping it" she explained, fidgeting a bit, which Rogue noticed but shrugged off.

"You're really thoughtful, despite the fact that you're helping a very dangerous creature right now" Rogue remarked nicely.

Lucy felt her cheeks heat up a little. "Thank you. But it's a shame if I ignore it and leave it here to die. It just looked so helpless" she said.

"In that case, I'll help you out. Sting is too busy suiting himself out and I do not want to get in his way" he offered, his exceed nodding in agreement.

"Oh I appreciate your h-help but really, I don't w-want to bother you" Lucy stammered, who fidgeted with her jacket.

Rogue sighed and looked at the poor wyvern laying on the cold snow. "No, I insist. I've got nothing to do since Sting planned on finishing the job himself so I might as well do something productive as I wait for him to get done with it" he urged. Lucy paused and thought about it for a moment. But what could go wrong? There's nothing wrong with Rogue helping her out anyway.

"A-Alright" she replied quickly, earning an assuring look from him.

* * *

**Author's Final Ranting:**

**Waaah! I'm sorry I have to finish it right there! I finished at exactly 11:25 PM plus it took time for me to edit the cover for this story. Anyways here's a little something you should know~**

**Basically, the pairing for this story was originally RoLu, but seeing that you'll already know the pairing if I say that this story is indeed RoLu, the thrill isn't there. So now, vote for the pairing you want, okay? I'm too lazy to set up a poll and have no time for private messages, so I'm expecting your answer in the reviews. **

**I will not be accepting votes after the last three or four chapters of the story. But anyways, tell me what you think and drop a review? It motivates me to update faster.**

**Also, don't forget to check out: **_Learn to Love Again_ **by yours truly~! I'll be needing some support with it, since I lost my plot for it when I forgot the e-mail I used here. That's probably all...**

**Oh wait, but if I were you, I'd vote for RoLu because we need more of it. But it's really up to you anyways~! That's about it. Thanks for reading guys and if you want the chapter word count (excluding the Author's Notes) here it is: 2217.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Crystal Flowers**

**Author's Notes:** Hooray for another early update of _Crystal Flowers_! Just got motivated because of a RoLu story I've read. And since you guys want RoLu, then here's a chapter for you. Full of RoLu shiz and all that, but not really romantic. By the way, take note of the important events of the story so you'll know why it's named _Crystal Flowers._ Oh and by the way, Sting will have his grand moment-ruining entrance in this story on the next chapter (I think). I need to add some StiLu here and there (not in this chappie though) to make sure both pairings are balance. That's all, I think again.

**Important Notes:** Changed the summary because the real one (presented in the first chapter) was too long. So the new one is here:

**Summary:** It all started from boredom, wherein our favorite celestial mage, Lucy Heartfilia, takes a solo mission. During her quest, she bumps to two people who she didn't think would change her life in an instant. And with certain circumstances, she becomes very close friends with them. Yet something's telling her that befriending them is a wrong choice when she's already falling in love.

**Genre:** Romance, Drama, Hurt/Comfort

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima and not mine to take.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Meanwhile in Fairy Tail, Natsu Dragneel, accompanied by his blue exceed, Happy, walked weakly across the guild. The other members looked at him in confusion, since he looked really tired with dark circles under his eyes. His hair was a salmon pink mess and his clothes are really filthy. Happy's fur was unkempt and he had sleepy eyes which were about to close. While the cat was flying in the air, his direction wasn't straight but rather in a dizzy way.

"Oi ash breath! What's up with you and that setup?" a certain ice maker mage with raven hair asked from the sidelines. He looked at Natsu with disgust and extreme wonder.

The called fire wizard glared at him. "Shut up Gray! You don't know how it feels like to look for Lucy all day!" he yelled, earning some mischievous looks from the members and sly smirk from Mirajane who heard his shout. Gray eyed at him for a moment then scowled, going back to whatever he was doing.

_'I've been through much worse looking for her, just so you_ know' Gray silently thought.

Natsu's pace slowed down until he sat clumsily on a stool beside the bar. He carelessly dropped his head on the counter. "Miraaa...Have you seen Lucy somewhere? I cannot find her anywhere and she's not even in her apartment. Lucy will never leave without me, you know? It feels weird without her" Natsu said solemnly, not even noticing how Mirajane was smiling at him like a crazy idiot.

"Oh you're looking for Lucy, _too?_" the white-haired take over mage asked, "She just left a few hours ago for a solo mission because she said she was bored"

Natsu blinked. Did she just say that Lucy took a mission all by herself? "What? But if she was bored, she'll ask me to go with her. Why would she want to go alone?" he asked, sighing. "Mira, do you know which mission she took? I want to help her out" he added, resting his chin on one hand.

"Natsu, you shouldn't interfere with Lucy's own adventure. She's strong so let her be" Mira scolded him, tapping her fingers on the wooden counter.

"That's right!" Gray agreed with Mirajane's comment, who appeared from their right side. Natsu raised his head and sent him a glare. "Lucy wouldn't go on a mission alone if it weren't for you destroying a city every time we go on one! Let Lucy take a solo mission if she wants to. After all, I reckon that she wouldn't like you suddenly in the same place as her. What are you a stalker?" Gray bitterly said, crossing his arms.

Happy, who nibbled on a fish that he got from who-knows-where, raised his paw in agreement. "Aye! Even if Lucy's weird she's still strong nonetheless so there's no need to worry!" the exceed said encouragingly.

The dragon slayer looked defeated and hesitantly agreed with them anyway. "Dammit, fine!" Natsu reluctantly huffed, ignoring the looks he got from other members and a furious glare from Gray.

* * *

Back in the middle top level of Mt. Hakobe lies an injured wyvern, a very bashful Lucy, a willing Rogue and a happy Frosch. They were making their way to the wyvern nests so they could bring the little beast back to its home and grab a crystal flower afterwards. Lucy and Rogue struggled to carry a young wobbling blizzardvern up to the top. Despite the strong cold wind that made them stop for a few seconds or so, they finally reached their nests, which is located in a dark cave a few levels below where Sting was.

The ground was a bit shaky, probably due to Sting fighting the vulcans. Rogue sweat dropped as he suddenly remembered his partner who was above them in some way. "Here we are. I sense two wyverns and some weak energy source that might be coming from their eggs in the cave. If this is the nest, then the crystal flowers might be blooming somewhere inside" Rogue smartly said.

Lucy nodded as an excited wyvern tucked in her left arm was now about to leap off them. "This little guy here looks jumpy," Lucy said, "It probably senses its parents here so we better be careful"

Rogue hummed in reply and they carefully entered the cave, Frosch trailing behind them. As they stopped, the intensity in the cave was increasing and Lucy felt nervous by the second. A long cold breeze came from the deeper parts and put a stop to their tracks. "It looks like they're already sensing our presence. We should prepare in case one suddenly attacks" Rogue warned, holding the small wyvern tighter.

"Grrrrnuuuump" it wailed loudly, which echoed through the cave, some dust showering down as the sound tickled the rocks.

The flowing air stopped, silence befalling. Rogue clenched his fists while Lucy held on to her keys. The wyvern tucked below them suddenly emitted a louder sound, making it a very big growl. Lucy and Rogue's eyes widened as the ground began to shake, but the wyvern and Frosch looked normal. From the darkness arrived two large wyverns, who roared and moved their giant jaws to where Lucy and Rogue were.

Their talons are already ready to strike, but the smaller wyvern stopped them with a snarl. Lucy and Rogue exchanged confused looks but then stared back at the scene. They carefully let go of the wyvern it wobbled to the two larger ones. It let out cute roars and nuzzled against the one of the larger wyverns' feet. Lucy, Rogue and Frosch smiled at the sight.

"Those two larger ones might be its parents and it might be telling them that we helped it" Rogue guessed, with Lucy nodding in agreement.

"Fro thinks so, too!" the green exceed exclaimed cheerfully as he landed on the ground and waved his webbed hands.

The now happy family of wyverns looked at the three in peace. Lucy decided to speak because she knew that wyverns are extremely smart. "Um, yeah, you're welcome, really," she said, Rogue looking at her with an amused smile, "I was hoping that you could help us find a crystal flower"

The two larger wyverns looked at each then back at Lucy, nodding at her. "Oh wow, thank you so much!" Lucy squealed and caught Rogue staring at her. Realizing that Lucy caught him, he quickly looked away and cannot help but smile at his own actions. Lucy blushed but shrugged it off.

_'Why is he acting like this?'_ Lucy thought.

Rogue tried to put on a blank expression on his face but cannot get rid of the pink flush on his cheeks. _'Why _amI _acting like this?' _Rogue thought to himself. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. Awkward silence was now the problem. Unfortunately, the wyverns in front of them could feel it as well, so they intelligently motioned the humans (plus cat) to follow them. Lucy, who seemed amazed by how witty the enormous beasts are, willingly followed, Frosch following after her, regardless of leaving Rogue behind.

The red-eyed dragon slayer finally snapped back to his senses when Lucy called for him. "Oh sorry I was just thinking of something" he truthfully said. Lucy nodded, convinced. Rogue looked around for something that could take the tension away and spotted something sparkling. "It looks like the wyverns lead us to where the crystal flowers are" he said.

Lucy looked at him then to where Rogue was gaping it. Her jaw dropped in amazement as a large bed of glimmering crystal-clear flowers bloomed yonder. "Wow...This is...This is so beautiful!" she rasped excitedly, Rogue cringing a little to her childish tone.

"Fro thinks so, too!" Frosch agreed with the blonde and stared in awe at the wonderful sight.

"Well? Go pick one. I thought you needed to deliver one" Rogue said, folding his arms as he watched Lucy do so.

Crouching down, she plucked one flower out then placed it safely in a small jar she got from her knapsack. For a flower, it fitted just right, much to Lucy's disappointed. She wanted to take some home, but unfortunately, she cannot take any more. _'Mental note: Bucket List #15: Dream guy giving me a bouquet of crystal flowers'_ she thought with a giggle, unaware that Rogue emitted a small snicker because of her.

_'Again, Rogue? Really?_' Rogue mentally slapped himself from acting too weird. _'Could it be that I...No, that's impossible. I only met the girl for only two or three times'_ he thought nervously.

Lucy sighed as she was done packing a single flower and placed the jar back to her bag. She stood up again and breather. All she need to do now was bring back the crystal flower to Winter. She walked back to Rogue as Frosch was already back with him. "Thank you for your help Rogue. I really appreciate it," Lucy sincerely thanked him. She turned to the family of blizzardverns. "And thank you, too for your kindness"

* * *

The trio exited the cave in silence and the cold wind once again blew, welcoming them back outside. Lucy shivered a little which Rogue raised an eyebrow at. "Achoo!" she sneezed, her face turning red. Lucy embraced herself and Frosch looked at her in worry.

"Miss Fairy Lucy are you okay?" the caring exceed asked, making Lucy smile a little.

Lucy sniffed and nodded, her cheeks flushing. "Y-yeah," she stuttered, then sneezed again. This time, it was Rogue who asked is she's alright. "It's nothing but a mere cold anyways. I'm fine" she assured them both. _'I should've listened to Winter, damn it'_ she thought.

But the Shadow Dragon Slayer didn't seem convinced so he took his cape off. By the time Lucy realized his actions, Rogue already placed the cape around Lucy. "There you go," he said, "I can stand this cold anyway, you can have it". Lucy blushed then sneezed again, causing her to clasp the cape close and shiver more. But something was telling Rogue that the cape wasn't enough. _'Body heat~' _a voice in his head teased and his eyes widened.

"R-Rogue? Thank you f-for this b-but I'll make it up to y-you" Lucy's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Huh? No! There's no need t-to" he stammered a bit, mentally punching himself to death, "It's fine, really! It's better than you getting sick"

Frosch nodded, agreeing to the dragon slayer's statement. "You're so kind. No offense, but I don't expect this one coming from a Tiger" she said slowly as they started to walk.

"Truth be told, I never expected this either" he said quietly.

Another awkward silence, rather than the sounds of their feet sweeping off snow as they stepped. Lucy's quivering got worse and Rogue noticed, feeling a bit uneasy. He thought twice about that body heat thing, but blushed every time he did so. Rogue glanced at Lucy, a blank expression on his face, and saw her cheeks getting red (probably because she's cold). He started to worry and he did what his instincts told him to do. Rogue involuntarily placed an arm around Lucy and pulled her close.

"R-Rogue?" Lucy managed to say, her voice shaking and she felt her face heat up.

The said man gave her a reassuring smile. "Body heat" he said.

* * *

**Author's Final Rant:**

**HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh right I'm sorry about that! I just needed to put that body heat thing in there and I can't prevent myself from tearing up! Okay. That was awkward. Oh shnaps, you might think I'm pretty weird now. Sorry.**

**Anyways, I have to stop it on that part and hopefully make Sting's grand entrance by the next chapter~ I will have to ruin your ROLU HEARTS! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Just kidding. Oh wait maybe I'm not. Well maybe I am. Wait, what?**

**Enough of this ranting! Hope you enjoyed.**

**If you like this chapter, drop a review, please? And don't forget to check out my other story:**_ Learn to Love Again._ **It's a ZerCy/ZerLu/Zeref x Lucy fan fiction. **

**Thanks, everyone! Vanilla...OUT!**


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